ORLANDO, FL. – The ever-unstoppable Bianca Belair ended 2018 by prevailing in a thrilling No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match against Lacey Evans, Io Shirai and Mia Yim to earn the right to challenge NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix. The rip-roaring showdown fired up the year-end edition of NXT with a nonstop tour de force, and with such high stakes, each Superstar pulled out all the stops from bell to bell.

Shirai took flight early on, manipulating an Irish whip from Evans into a missile-like dive through the ropes to land on Belair. The Genius of the Sky’s launch arrived seconds after The Head Baddie in Charge shot out of the ring like a cannon to flatten The EST of NXT. But the dynamic force of Evans made the battle even more challenging, thanks to a solid ground-and-pound strategy that had competitors like Shirai and Yim peeling themselves off the canvas. Belair, meanwhile, for all the strikes she received, remained unyieldingly resilient, as she withstood the punishing rain of attacks and returned them in kind. 

As the pressure mounted, so did everyone’s limits. Evans clocked Yim with a Women’s Right out of nowhere, which prompted Shirai to spoil the pinfall and reach for the sky with a gorgeous moonsault onto The Lady of NXT. When Shirai went for the pin, Belair swooped in and struck her with a vicious hair whip before tossing the 2018 Mae Young Classic finalist to the outside with a reverse powerbomb. At that point, The EST of NXT scooped up a dazed Evans and planted her with the K.O.D. to punch her ticket to an NXT Women’s Title Match and, yes, remain un-de-fea-ted.

Jaxson Ryker needs no words to describe what The Forgotten Sons have in store for the approaching new year. Everything that could’ve possibly been said took on a life of its own in the middle of the squared circle, as Ryker expelled the remainder of his 2018 angst on a startled Mitch Taverna.

The incredibly fierce Ryker minced Taverna from the opening bell. He overwhelmed Taverna with a mat-rattling spinebuster that was followed by a jaw-rocking knee strike. To close things out for the 2018 Do Unto Others tour, Ryker pulverized Taverna with a slingshot powerbomb to capture the victory, and put an end to any speculation surrounding The Forgotten Sons’ New Year’s Resolution.

Is #DIY back? That question resounded throughout the NXT Universe last week, after NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa assisted in the victory of his former best friend Johnny Gargano over Aleister Black by way of the very double-team move that highlighted their #DIY days.

In a message to Gargano, Ciampa took a trip back down memory lane, reminding his former pal of the dream they once shared. In a move similar to how he instigated the Black-Gargano Steel Cage Match, the self-proclaimed “Gatekeeper of NXT” suggested that Gargano battle for the NXT North American Title at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix so that the pair can actualize their longtime goal of one day “taking over the world.”

“This is our TakeOver, Johnny,” he added, before predicting victories for both his match against Black and the dreamt-up championship battle for his former #DIY teammate. “Think about it,” he advised.

Confident, calculating and callous, Undisputed ERA withstood Heavy Machinery’s jarring hurricane to maintain their perch atop the NXT Tag Team division.

The tension between the two teams spilled out into an all-out brawl with both duos matching each other’s level of physicality. Where Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight employed their brute strength, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong met them in the middle with a mixture of damaging strikes. The combination between these respective forces made this contest one of the hardest-hitting NXT Tag Team Title battles this year. 

Late in the bout, after landing a Caterpillar on Strong, Dozovic was quickly darted with a running kick by O’Reilly, who was clobbered by Knight. This give-and-go pace of action emphasized the high-stakes nature of this match.

In a pivotal moment, Dozovic threw caution to the wind by climbing to the top rope, only to have Strong and O’Reilly strike him back to his senses by combining to fold him with a superplex. Miraculously, the Heavy Machinery powerhouse kicked out of the pin attempt, which only fired up the wily O’Reilly & Strong to rain on Dozovic with a high/low combination that undisputedly kept him down for three.